Sophie's Tail
by ClockworkScales
Summary: Alternate events to the end of season 3. Sophie gets pulled into the moon pool by the water tentacle during the full moon. The next morning, she's convinced her mermaid tail has appeared due to a curse put on her from stealing the blue crystals from Mako cave. She tries to bring the crystals back, in hopes that it will remove the curse once and for all. One shot.


Sophie watched earnestly as Ryan dug away at the wall of Mako cave with his drill. With a loud hammering noise, a chunk of rock fell from the mound and crumbled on the ground. A glimmering blue light caught Sophie's eye and she squealed, dancing on her feet at the crevasse filled with sparkling crystal. Ryan pulled off his safety goggles and peered at her, his eyes wide. Sophie clapped her hands together and gave Ryan a pat on the back.

'Look! See? I told you there was something special about this place,' Sophie glowed. 'We'll never have to work again!'

Suddenly, a rumble came from the walls of the cave and small rock particles fell from above. Sophie brushed the dirt off her shoulders. She approached the wall of Mako cave and touched the bright blue crystals with awe. Her hand darted away. It was as if she had touched a hot iron. She grimaced. The cave rumbled again. The moonlight shone from the hole in the cave above and lit the crystals.

Sophie suddenly felt something wet wrap around her ankle. With a glance, she saw something like a snake slip into the pool. She wasn't sure though, it was too quick.

'Do you know what kind of snakes normally live here?' Sophie asked Ryan.

Ryan shrugged. 'Water snakes, probably... I can't imagine many would be around here; it might be too warm.' He put down his drilling gear and placed them in a bag. He didn't even touch the crystals. 'Look, Sophie. I don't feel safe here. I think we should get out. It's going to collapse.'

'Nonsense!' Sophie said. 'This place is perfectly stable.'

Again, she felt something wet and cold around her ankle and she kicked her leg, but the feeling wouldn't go away. The red-head barely got a good look at the thing before it pulled her into the pool. The water splashed around her. The liquid was surprisingly warm, despite the snake's coldness. It didn't add up. Water engulfed her and her clothes sagged against her skin. She tread water, gasping for air, wondering what was happening. All of a sudden, she no longer felt the cold thing around her leg.

'Help me up, will you?' Sophie stammered, swimming to the edge of the pool. Ryan reached his hand out to help her up, but he disappeared from view as Sophie was pulled under the water again. She barely had time to get a good breath of air. Bubbles rose around her. The warm darkness engulfted her, barely lit from the moonlight and Ryan's lights. She struggled against the cold feeling that got higher and higher above her legs. How many snakes were there? And how could they possibly be holding her down? She felt her head spinning, and black spots danced in front her vision.

About ten seconds later, she was released. She spluttered as she pulled herself out of the water. Ryan rushed to her side and attempted to help her up, but Sophie pushed him away.

'Get off! Something's in the water, and it tried to drown me.'

Sophie panted and got to her feet, a red mark apparent across her legs.

'I need to get back home. We can continue this tomorrow. Bring an extermination squad. I don't want to be around if those _things_ decide to eat me for dinner.'

* * *

Sophie had nightmares of the ocean that night. Of water creatures and vermin trying to capture her in their seaweed.

There were merpeople, sea snakes, and her greatest foe: the water dragon. She had dreamt of the water dragon before. It was made of the bright blue crystal she had discovered in the Mako pool. It had white eyes with slits. It was as large as a bus. There was something about the way its wings- adapted to the shape of a frog's webbed toes – fluttered under the water, and the way its long tail made circles in the deep that made Sophie's skin prickle. Water snakes trailed under the creature's webbed feet like reeds, and merpeople surrounded the dragon like followers of a devoted religion.

Sophie's body was covered from head to toe in seaweed. Her voice was muted against the overpowering water.

They were all looking at her, and their eyes were filled with hatred.

* * *

Sophie woke with sweat on her forehead. She jumped to her feet, ignoring Will's snoring nearby, and approached the wooden deck outside their house. She bent her legs and rest against the scrubby planks. She hung her legs over the side and felt the cool water embrace them. She sighed, watching the sun peel over the horizon.

It was then that the strangest thing happened. Sophie's legs tingled, and her short-length pyjamas and even her very legs disappeared. Instead, she had a long orange mermaid tail, and an orange bra-type thing made of scales. Sophie gasped, and covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. Tears formed in her eyes. Was she still in her nightmare? Was she cursed from taking the crystals from that place? Were those snakes a warning?

Desperately, she clambered out of the water, her big tail flopping against the deck. A big wet patch formed on the wood where her tail had been, and she reached for the nearest beach towel to dry herself.

_Go away, go away, go away. _She thought to herself. She rubbed against the scales desperately with the towel. She pulled herself away from the wet patch on the planks. Sophie swallowed, forcing the tears back into her eyes. _Don't cry. It's just a dream. Just..._

The tail disappeared. She heaved a sigh of relief, and then darted inside to grab her phone and the bag carrying the crystals. She dialed Ryan's number.

'Ryan speaking. Sophie?'

'Yes!' Sophie began. 'I was just wondering if anything strange happened to you. Like when you touched water.'

There was a long silence.

'No,' Ryan replied. 'What kind of strange are we talking, here?'

'Er,' Sophie said. 'I get tingles in my legs.'

Ryan made a grunting sound.

'Try not to worry about that too much. I assume you're still a bit in shock from your fall yesterday. I didn't see any snake in the pool with you, so it's possible you slipped, or got stuck in a weird rift or something.' Ryan laughed. 'Okay, I admit, I don't know much about water. But think of this as just some PTSD. Relax.'

'Ah, okay,' Sophie mumbled. 'Thanks, Ryan.'

'No worries.'

Sophie snapped her phone shut. She decided she would have to do this on her own. Sophie pondered about the tail. She slung the bag full of crystals over her shoulder.

'Okay. Time to go face the dragon.'

She jumped into the water. Once again her pyjamas disappeared. The water pulled her down with the crystals and bubbles rose from her mouth. The tail appeared. She pushed with it and pulled herself to the surface. She took a gasp of air, and then dipped her head under the water slightly.

A quick test told her... Yes, she _could_ breath under water. Sophie was too preoccupied with her dream last night to be amazed. This was all weird, for sure, but she needed to end this stupid curse. The bag streamed behind her as she swam away. She had left her phone on the deck.

* * *

The swim over to Mako Island was frightening, and oddly beautiful to say the least. The sharks surrounding Mako Island were terrifying, but she managed to zip past them when she found an opening point. Other than that there were a variety of interesting and colourful fish and coral.

She soon found the rocky under water opening that could only be the other way into Mako cave she had heard about from Will. She entered it, squinting through the water, dragging the bag of rocks behind her. Could tunnels naturally form like this? It seemed possible.

The water was warmer as she entered the pool and broke the surface. That was normal considering the reports lately. Mako cave was empty to her relief. She pulled herself onto the rock and out of the water. Water seeped into the sand from her body. She didn't have a towel with her. She only needed to do one thing though.

Sophie pulled herself over to the drill-made tear in the rock. Blue light twinkled at her. The tail was surprisingly heavy. With a small hand, she reached into her bag and pulled out the crystals. She couldn't reach the hole above, so she placed them against the wall, trying to be neat.

She took a deep breath.

'I'm sorry I took those rocks,' she said earnestly to the cave. 'I understand that you cursed me in order to prevent me from doing it again. I guess it only happened to me because Ryan didn't take any of them. But I want you to have them back, and change me back to a normal human being... _Please_.'

Sophie waited for her tail to disappear, but it didn't.

She grew increasingly frustrated. Sophie even slammed her fist down on the rock.

'You... stupid cave! I didn't mean to be selfish and take the rocks! I just want this tail to go away. Do you have any idea how much of a hassle it would be to keep? I have to hang around pools constantly because of my brother. I don't want to grow a tail around him every time I get wet!'

It was then she realized...

Wet. Maybe the water snake had something to do with this. Or was it the bubbles from the pool?

Sophie slid over to the pool once more, the sand grating against her underside. She reached a hand into the water and flicked it, hopefully.

No snake came to pull her in or offer her explanations. It was then that Sophie finally cried. She was frustrated and anxious. She didn't want to be seen with a tail! She dragged herself over to grab her now-empty bag and then lay back against the sand with her head against the bag, sniffling.

She lied on the sand, her eyes red and puffy, for about twenty minutes. She stared up through the hole in the ceiling of Mako cave with woe. The blue sky was no longer speckled with the oranges and purples of daybreak. The redhead rest her arms over her face and sighed, closing her eyes and resting. It was very peaceful in the cave, she couldn't doubt that. She only hoped if she stayed in there long enough something good would happen to her. Maybe the tail would disappear? Water still dripped off her hair and body, and permeated the sand underneath her.

Suddenly, she heard a splash by the pool and pulled herself up to see what it was. Was it the snake?

To her surprise she saw Will there. He was wearing his black bathing suit and goggles. He pulled the goggles off. His jaw went slack at the sight of her, his eyes scanning the long scaley tail. He pushed his wet blond hair stuck to his face away. He blinked.

'You have a tail?'

Sophie blushed.

'Uh, yes I do! Yes, it's for the uni-fin design contest.'

Will pulled himself out of the water, yanked off his fin, and sat down next to Sophie. The red head looked away from him, not daring to meet his eyes. Would he see through her bluff?

'It doesn't bother me, in case you're wondering. I know other people who have the same... uh... condition as you.'

Sophie's eyes lit up.

'You mean I'm not the only one? Is it that Bella girl?'

Will shook his head. 'I can't say who it is. But it's definitely not Bella.'

Sophie frowned. 'Whatever. I don't want to be part of their club anyway.'

She peered up at Will, her eyes wide.

'I didn't mean to take the rocks. I brought them back to make things right, but I still have this tail.'

Will nodded, and listened to her concerns for awhile. He gave Sophie a hug, then.

'Look. Don't worry about it. I'll understand if you don't want to be my coach any more.'

'It's just going to be a hassle,' Sophie admitted. 'That's all. And I don't want _anybody_ else to know about this.'

'I understand.'

The two sat in the cave for awhile, thinking about what would become of their lives. Sophie pushed the hair back out of her eyes and then sidled over to the pool. The water lapped at its rocky sides pleasantly.

'Can you meet me back home and help me get out of the water without being seen?' Sophie requested. 'I'll need lots of towels.'

Will nodded, going back toward the pool and putting his uni-fin back on. 'Sure thing.'

'Thanks a lot,' Sophie said. 'This is going to be a little hard for me to deal with, but with you at least knowing about it, I know it'll make things a lot easier.' Sophie paused, and gave her brother a brief hug. 'You're a good brother.'

Will nodded and put on his goggles.

'No worries, sis.'

Will slipped into the water and bounded through the water tunnel. Sophie waited a few minutes before sliding into the water with a splash, her tail flopping behind her. She took a deep breath and went under. The warm water vanished somewhat as she left Mako pool. She wondered briefly what would happen later... As she swam through the water and avoided sharks, she thought about Zane...

There was no way she was telling Zane about this. Then again... Would he be more interested in her if she did?

_No._ Sophie told herself. _If a guy is interested in you only because you have a mermaid tail, you're doing it wrong._

Sophie worked her tail all the way back to shore. Will was waiting there for her, towels aplenty. She couldn't begin to mention how grateful she was as he helped heft her now-heavy mermaid body out of the water and carried her inside, covering her in towels. He placed her in the bathtub and gave her a few packets of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. He placed them on the edge of the bath. Sophie pushed the towels out of the tub and put them on the floor. She peered up at Will.

'Helps get the salt water out,' he mentioned. He smiled, and held the door handle meekly. 'Take your time. I'll lock the door and keep an eye on the place for you.'

Sophie smiled at Will as he closed the door behind her. Sophie began to run the hot water, her tail peeking out over the edge of the tub. She squirted eukalyptus shampoo into her palms and ran it through her hair. She then squirted body wash on her tail and rubbed it in, smelling the fresh pine scent with nostalgia.

She ran her hands over the orange scales, bright green foam now covering them. She couldn't help but wonder what was going through the head of the dragon... After all, if mermaids existed... why not dragons made of crystal? Sophie pushed these thoughts out of her mind as she washed.

Sophie couldn't deny one thing though: being a mermaid would definitely put a spin on things...

* * *

_A/N: I wrote this because I actually kind of like Sophie's character. I mean, she's written into the show so you hate her, but I don't think she's a terribly hateful person. She's misunderstood, mostly. That doesn't excuse some of her behaviour during the show, though. I thought it would be interesting to see her in this type of situation. Let me know if I got the character right._


End file.
